Selasa, 19 Februari 2013

Chief Constable sends out 'no compromise' message re force values

Congratulations to Devon and Cornwall's new Chief Constable on the message he has sent out about the force's values. His no compromise message highlights the dangers that face our force at a time when public confidence in the police has been shaken.

I don't believe that there is any systemic or individual problem in Devon and Cornwall Police that will cause the public to lose trust. But we cannot avoid the fact that the phone hacking saga, arrests and allegations of improper police behaviour and relationships with journalists have done much to shake the national confidence.

It would be all too easy for a force like Devon and Cornwall to sit back and believe that this is a problem that does not affect them. But Shaun Sawyer has not done that. He has issued a message to all members of his force which set out the values that the public expects them to uphold and which he will not compromise on.

Some people seem to take the view that we must choose between meeting targets and abiding by our values. This is false. We will not reward people for hitting targets in an unethical way that is inconsistent with our mission, vision and values.

Our communities will only trust in us if we provide them with the best possible service. I will not accept performance that compromises either demonstrating our values or our focus on driving down crime and protecting those most vulnerable; to do so would be to do the public and ourselves a disservice."